Although the Patriots found a gem at right tackle with University of Houston tackle Sebastian Vollmer in 2009, the left side of the offensive is a little less clear.

Matt Light, who has been a mainstay at left tackle since 2000, will officially become a free agent when the new CBA deal is agreed upon. With the Patriots likely to release Nick Kaczur, bringing back Light seems like a viable option. Light will be 33 years old come the start of the 2011 season, so if the Patriots were to re-sign him it would be a one- or two-year deal.

With that said, the Patriots will need to develop a replacement at left tackle.

Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College

The four-year starter for the Boston College Eagles had one of the finest careers of any of Boston College’s illustrious offensive lineman. The 6-7 295-pound tackle, of Hawthorn Woods, Ill., is the next talented lineman to leave BC for the draft. Castonzo follows greats like; Damien Woody, Dan Koppen, Marc Colombo, Tom Nalen and Chris Snee.

Despite not being all that fundamentally sound, Castonzo makes up for it with sheer athleticism. However, that could cause Castonzo some problems at the next level, but with proper coaching he should be able to become disciplined in his stance.

One of Castonzo’s biggest attributes is his football IQ. In an interview with WEEI, Castonzo says he scored around the mid-40s on the Wonderlic Test, which is a series of open-ended questions where players are timed 12 minutes to answer 50 questions.

Wherever Castonzo is drafted he will enter training camp with expectations to start because of his ability to pickup the team’s playbook. ESPN Draft Analyst Mel Kiper currently ranks Castonzo as the 25th best in the entire NFL Draft.

Although Castonzo says that the Patriots have yet to meet with him, Castonzo’s a player that the Patriots could take a hard look at in the first round.

Matthew Marcantonio is the Patriots and college football editor at Sports of Boston. Marcantonio has contributed for two newspapers; the Sentinel & Enterprise (Leominster, Mass) and The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La) and held internships with The Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated.